 "Photo: Eric Ou/The Daily Texan")
Students walking along Speedway this week may be surprised to see shocking images of human and animal cruelty, which are part of a four-day campaign by peta2 and Students Against Cruelty to Animals.
The organizations set up a display that compares images of animal cruelty to those depicting humans in similar situations. The groups are working together to promote vegan and vegetarian options in food and cosmetics, and to bring an end to animal research conducted at UT.
Life-sized posters on 10 rectangular pillars juxtaposed human prisoners and caged primates, a pile of dead pigs and a mass grave of corpses and the branding of a cow with that of a slave.
The display, part of peta2’s Liberation Project, a national campaign to bring attention
to the similarities between animal cruelty and human suffering, will be on Speedway through Thursday.
Peta2 is the youth outreach division of PETA, said spokeswoman Adrianne Burke. The group targets middle school, high school and college campuses and advocates such things as vegetarian options in school cafeterias and eliminating the dissection of animals in science classrooms, Burke said.
The Liberation Project is targeted to colleges and critiques the ways in which humans have once suffered the same cruelty that animals are now suffering, Burke said.
Peta2 targets youth specifically because they are “the future of animal rights,” Burke said.
Kelly Sloan, the director of Students Against Cruelty to Animals, said the display is meant to make people think about animal suffering in a different way.
“In the past, we’ve oppressed people because we thought they were different from us,” Sloan said. “People have the same mentality against animals.”
The groups aim to make students aware of the inhumanity of animal research, which is used in the UT System, Sloan said.
Sloan said she doesn’t know specifically what the animals are used for because animal research is so secretive.
Dr. Glen Otto, director of the Animal Resources Center, the center that monitors the treatment and use of animals as research subjects at UT, said the animals are extremely important in medical breakthroughs that help both humans and animals.
“The same technological advances that have revolutionized human medicine have helped animals too,” Otto said.
For instance, researchers have been able to create new pain medications that make the use of animals in research more humane, he said.
Otto said the University closely regulates how the animals are treated.
“There are a tremendous number of laws and regulations on how people get funding, approval and how the animals are maintained,” Otto said.
The center houses more than 100 animals used in research at the University, Otto said in an April 2009 interview with The Daily Texan.
Of the students who passed by the display, some were affected while others paid no attention to the graphic images.
Biology senior Abigail Young-Sing said the images were effective because they “grab your attention.”
“It makes you really think about it,” Young-Sing said. “It relates humans to animals.”
Sloan said people should care about animal cruelty because people who abuse humans start out by abusing animals, and the display connects those two actions.
Government junior Eva Shonuga said she never related animal cruelty to human suffering, and she did not know about the inhumane treatment of animals that was depicted in the display.
“It doesn’t make me want to go vegetarian, but I will be more aware in the decisions that I make concerning meats and things,” Shonuga said.
Burke said the display attracted a lot of people who were interested in joining Students Against Cruelty to Animals and students who were affected by the images, including a student who said he was a deer hunter.
“It doesn’t matter what your background [is], we can all agree, this sucks,” Burke said.
Speaking out it exactly what PETA is all about. The display that they had on campus was extremely powerful. Although I am not a vegetarian, these kind of issues are very close to my heart because I have such an immense love for animals. After reading the first two panels on display, I immediately felt sick and I had to go sit down for almost the remainder of the time we were out there. The images on those posters were burned into my head. So many people are against genocide and human rights violations, but how many stop and realize we inflict the exact same torture on helpless animals?
Speaking out it exactly what PETA is all about. The display that they had on campus was extremely powerful. Although I am not a vegetarian, these kind of issues are very close to my heart because I have such an immense love for animals. After reading the first two panels on display, I immediately felt sick and I had to go sit down for almost the remainder of the time we were out there. The images on those posters were burned into my head. So many people are against genocide and human rights violations, but how many stop and realize we inflict the exact same torture on helpless animals?
In class today Professor Bump, pointed out that animal cruelty is even occurring at the University of Texas at Austin. I was shocked and horrified to hear that animal abuse hit so close to home. In the university, their have been people who witnessed sparrows having their eye’s gouged out for physiological “experiments.” Many tests that involve the use of animals are not even used for medical purposes. Instead animals are used inhumanly to test shampoo products, cosmetics, and many other ridiculous products for humans.The poster PETA put up made me realize animal cruelty goes way beyond pet abandonment and overpopulation of dogs. Animal abuse is everywhere, especially where humans have tampered with nature and created factories filled with animals on death row. After this experience and awareness, I definitely want to be involved with a student organization that stands up against animal cruelty.
It was very convenient that professor Bump took us to see the PETA/SACA display because it helped us be aware there are students at UT who are actively working on improving the lives of animals and doing what they can to prevent cruelty to animals. This display was appropriate for our class because people’s ethics allow them to mistreat animals when in reality they should be treated just like any other human being. I admire these people and I want to become one of them. I wrote down my information on a list they had and I can’t wait to get information and get involved in this student organization. I will finally begin working on my goal and make a change.
The displays that were shown yesterday were impressive. The purpose of the gruesome pictures was to give people a visual of how animals are mistreated and I can tell you that they did this effectively. The message that they were trying to get through was to show people that animals are just like us.
One of these pictures said “They’re just like us” and when I read this, I automatically thought of Lewis Carroll. Like PETA, Carroll wanted people to treat animals as well as they treated people. This is why he gave the animals human traits in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. However, Carroll wrote his book a long time ago and I don’t think he had a great impact on how animals were mistreated. Instead, people focused on the symbolism in the books and they tried to justify his reasons for writing what he wrote. On the other hand, the main focus of PETA is to save animals and inform people about animal cruelty.
I spoke to one of the girls in that were giving out freebies to people and I asked about how SACA (Students Against Cruelty to Animals) is involved in the community and she seemed so optimistic about making a change. She told me about their meetings on Tuesdays and how they are trying so hard to even make a small change. I admired that she was realistic about the changes that she can make as a student and still remained optimistic to take those “baby steps” to ultimately make a bigger change.
Peta2 is a very strong campaign that has caused many to stop eating meat and become vegan or vegetarian. I admire these people for being empathetic for animals and strong to stand up for what they believe is right. I have known about the cruelty the animals go through in slaughterhouses, dairy farms, and in the fur industry. The fur industry is disgraceful in my opinion. We are in an era where fur no longer has to be an option to keep us warm. Now many will defend it as a fashion statement. What kind of fashion is it to wear another being's skin? Would wearing a human being's skin look appealing? Well it's the same thing; we are all considered animals. I have seen videos through Peta the violence and suffering the poor animals go through. Animal testing is another form of cruelty that seems ridiculous. The experiments are bizarre and inhumane. If the experiment seems too extreme to perform on humans, why would you bother doing it on animals? They have no voice to defend themselves. It's surprising through all these experiments, scientists can't seem to accept the animals have feelings, thoughts, and suffer just like human beings. I will agree the meat industry disgusting.
Killing animals is what many consider nature like me, but few realize that they are being killed violently. An animal should only be killed to be eaten. Not for entertainment, not just to use one body part like its' tusks, and not to be dissected. Animals should die as painless and quickly as possible to be consumed by humans. One must consider their morals and ethics in deciding to eat meat, purchase leather or fur, or watch a dogfight. What separates us from these animals is that we have a voice, and other believe we have reason and logic. Well shouldn't a human being that can reason, believe one must treat others the way they want to be treated?
However, I don't think I can completely turn vegetarian or vegan. I am not saying I am going to ignore the situation either. I do plan on cutting back meat gradually. For the sake of the animals that are suffering. It will also benefit my health overall. Eating less meat will lead to a decrease in chance of heart disease and increase a longer life. I will no longer buy products that are tested on animals. I will not consume from restaurants like McDonalds or KFC. I will spread the word to anyone willing to listen on how animals are treated in the US. I also hope to get involved with Peta and other organizations on campus that are against animal cruelty.
As some of us were looking at the display one of the girls started telling us about the McDonalds chicken. She told us that there are so many that need to be slaughtered that there isn’t even time to snap all of their necks, some they kill alive. Of course this isn’t right! If you are going to kill an animal at least do it as quickly and with the littlest pain possible. She continued to talk about how they are trying to get McDonalds to cut a molecule in the air that the chickens breath so that they simply go to sleep and just don’t wake up. Yes this isn’t something that someone would want to happen, but it is better than them killing them alive! She told us it’s a step at a time and that hopefully there won’t be a McDonalds for the sake of animals and humans as well!
This little display really touched my heart and I feel really sad for animals and the people who have gotten treated badly. I hope that one day all the pain for animals being slaughtered will be illegal and they have to be put to sleep pain free! It would be ideal to have everyone become a vegetarian and animals and humans could be happy, but that just isn’t going to happen, so I can only hope that we can be less cruel and have more compassion for these innocent animals.